ethics

Mark Wahlberg wants a Pardon. I want justice!

By December 12, 2014 No Comments

In 1988, movie mogul Mark Wahlberg was a punk kid rapper and model who performed under the name of “Marky Mark.” He was also a troubled kid who was addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Mark WahlbergAccording to Jeff Yang, writing for CNN (December 9, 2014), back in 1988 Wahlberg attempted to steal two cases of beer from a convenience store owned by a Vietnamese store keepers Tranh Lam and Hoa Trinh . Yang’s article states:

“The attacks were peppered with racial slurs; he called Lam a “Vietnam f*cking sh*t” before smashing him in the head with a large club and knocking him unconscious, and he punched Trinh so hard that he left him blinded in one eye. He repeatedly referred to both men as ‘slant-eyed gooks’ while he was being arrested. Wahlberg, who was 17, was tried as an adult and served 45 days in jail for the crime.”

Now, switching articles, according to the Associated Press, December 5, 2014, entitled: “Mark Wahlberg seeks pardon for ’88 assault as teen,”

“Actor Mark Wahlberg is asking Massachusetts for a pardon for an assault he committed in 1988 when he was a troubled teenager in Boston…Wahlberg’s application with the Massachusetts Parole Board says he isn’t the same person he was 26 years ago and his past convictions are still affecting his life…

Wahlberg further said that, “a pardon would be an inspiration to troubled kids that they can turn their lives around.”

However, that isn’t the entire story. Back to Jeff Yang’s article:

“In a stroke of irony, he (Wahlberg) states that a major reason for seeking a pardon is the desire to expand his own burgeoning restaurant chain, Wahlburgers, whose licensing has been hampered by his record as a felon.”

There’s the Aha! Moment. It took us a little while, but we finally hit cooking oil.

What have you done to deserve it?

I grow weary of people of privilege who are able to say or do most anything they wish because many of us are so caught up in their stardom but not their ethics. A mild case in point: a view weeks ago, Hollywood mogul Jerry Seinfeld in his very own flip manner tried to convince us that he was somewhere on the scale of autism. He thought it was amusing, I suppose. It turns out that he is not autistic, and he was just talking in order to add a little more hot air to the world. I know people who have autistic children – they did not share in the laughter of Seinfeld’s idiotic comment. But hey, he’s a star and he can make comments like that.

Suppose you’re 17 and beat a person with a club and render him unconscious while spewing racial epithets, then suppose you punched him in the eye so hard, he is blinded in that eye for life?

You’re hauled in front of a judge and given the ridiculously light sentence of three weeks. Nothing more is asked of you – and you do nothing more. You continue on with your modeling career and then you start acting. You go from being a teenager to an adult actor and you become extremely wealthy. Mr. Lam continues to squeeze out a living as a shopkeeper. He is still blinded.

Along the way to your fame and glory, not once do you ever reach out to Mr. Lam or the Vietnamese community. Not once with your fame and fortune and multi-millions do you apologize to his family. You want what now? A freakin’ pardon?

No second chance is automatic

As someone who teaches people how to make good choices and good decisions in life, I am always willing to allow the possibility of second chances. If you’ve messed up, you can have the opportunity to correct your mistakes and lead a productive life.

However, a second chance is earned. A second chance assumes you have made amends and that you understand what you did and to acknowledge the full consequences of your actions. No matter how much money or fame you have, you should not be able to buy a second chance and society should not allow it to happen.

Wahlberg has never made amends. He has apologized to no one. A pardon is an inspiration to no one. Making amends would be an inspiration.

Now he has a problem. His restaurant chain doesn’t need his millions or his connections. It needs him to show that he has really turned his life around. Liquor boards have a problem with someone who has shown no remorse. He is in limbo.

As it is turning out, Wahlberg’s incredibly light 45 day sentence wasn’t so light after all. He is now 43; he has still not learned his lesson and he has still not escaped his crime. He might start to free himself by a sincere apology to a man he blinded. We’ll wait to see if he does it, or if he tries to convince us he is somewhere on the scale of understanding what he did.

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